Mark your calendar!

     February 16th, 11am to 1pm, Randy Lemmon will be here answering your questions and signing his book.  Please feel free to bring in pictures of plants you want identified or problems you are having and need answers to. If you want to bring in a sample of a plant or an insect, please remember to put it into a zip lock bag and seal it.  Learn more about Randy at  https://www.randylemmon.com/ 

…AND!!!

     To celebrate spring we will be holding a drawing the same day. A drawing for what, you ask? Since, we all love our veggies (veggie haters need not read further or enter), we are giving away everything you need for a 100 square foot veggie garden (about a $400.00 value). The winner will receive Bender Board (our favorite edging), enough soil, fertilizer, plants and seeds  to whip up one amazing veggie garden. Assemble in a sunny spot, plant and water then just sit back and start dreaming of what you’re going to cook. Here is the catch. You MUST enter IN THE STORE between February 10th and closing on February 16th. The winner will be announced on February 17th.

Soil test kits

     We have Soil Test Kits available for free. You just need to take the samples (per supplied instructions) pack it up (in supplied box) and send it off! You pay the lab directly, based on what you want your soil tested for. If you need help reading the results, bring it in and we can go over it with you.

Get ready to kick-start your lawn

     Start thinking about your plan of attack for your lawn. What does it need? Are there low spots to fill? Enriched Top Soil is the thing to use as a filler. Do not think you’re getting a deal if it’s free or cheap. Free and cheap has a price, namely weed seeds and possible contaminates. Did you have lots of weeds last spring? You need to apply a pre-emergent to prevent the same situation this year. Is your lawn still recovering from the drought? Do you need to add sod in a few spots? What about fertilizer? Size up the yard and let’s get a plan in place instead of always playing catch up. Come in or call 281-440-5161 if you need help figuring what to do.  Be the yard that your neighbors talk about (in a good way).

Did you lose a tree (or 2)?

     Many of you had to remove trees over the last year or two. I did. It changes the entire look of your yard. Not only does your yard look different, the amount of sun you’re getting is different. Plants that enjoyed the shade of those trees, now have to take more sun. Some will be ok with it, others will not. I have a George Tabor azalea that happily lived between two huge Water oaks. The one on the south side of the azalea came down before Ike and it’s twin had to come down this winter. They were at the end of their life span, started having problems and had to go. The azalea has been fine since the first tree had to come down, leaving it in full sun for  about 8 hours. I will have to wait to see if it can handle even more.

     Consider doing a sun survey. Draw a map of your yard or go get multiple copies of the original plot plan, since these are really handy to have. At 8 am, mark all the sunny spots with a yellow highlighter. At noon use a pink one and at 4pm, use a 3rd color. You might want to do one in the heat of the summer too, since the sun will be at a different angle. This will give you a solid knowledge of what the sun is doing in your yard.

Did you notice???

     The Red Maples are in bloom and the Japanese Red Maples are starting to bud? Look for the Evergreen Pears to start blooming this week. Camellias are still going gangbusters. Flowering Apricots and Peaches are about to explode. The Monterrey Oaks are yellow at the top and green on the lower limbs. The Cardinals are starting to eat the Holly berries (watch out for drunk Cardinals).

Fruit trees

     Start looking for the swelling buds on your citrus. Get ready to begin spraying Neem Oil and Spinosad, alternate them weekly, to deal with Leaf Miners. Swelling buds also mean time to prune them. Pruning makes the branches sturdier and less likely to break under the weight of a bumper crop.  Buy and plant other fruit trees now. If you buy bare root fruit trees, only water them once after planting. If it rains, so be it. Do not water them until they start to develop leaves…just trust us on this. If you need a second opinion,     https://www.lecooke.com/cms/faq.html  under care and handling. By the way, the L.E. Cooke site is great resource and we buy their trees every year. They are always bigger and straighter than most other growers, come see for yourself.

Then…

     I know there was something else, but it alludes me at the moment. Gotta go, another load of plants has arrived!